Les adieux la Reine [Blu-ray]

Director Benot Jacquot adapted Chantal Thomas' bestselling novel examining the genesis of the French Revolution as witnessed from the perspective of the servants closest to Marie Antoinette. July 1789: Versailles. As the people of France rise up against King Louie XVI (Xavier Beauvois), the frightened sovereigns begin plotting their escape. Sidonie Laborde (La Seydoux) is the Queen's reader, and as such enjoys the many lavish privileges of being in the monarch's entourage. She sees herself as an extended member of the royal family, so when Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger) requests that Sidonie don the Queen's clothing and flee in her carriage, the nave servant views it as a tremendous honor. Meanwhile, the Queen herself plots to escape the palace under the cover of darkness, leaving her most loyal servant at the mercy of the raging mob.

"Diane Kruger's queen, a mature beauty mourning the loss of her youth, is a vivid portrait of willfulness, childishness and genuine neediness. And the fabric of the production is elegant..."Wall Street Journal

"FAREWELL, MY QUEEN offers an intoxicating opportunity to eavesdrop on history, to be a fly on the wall at the great palace at Versailles as an old order starts its slow-motion collapse into the dustbin of history."Los Angeles Times

"The picture coasts along quite nicely on the strength of its contemplative sensuality, its macaroon colors, and the exquisite beauty of its three chief actresses..."Movieline

3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[This] engrossing film tells a story we know well, seen from a point of view we may not have considered..."Chicago Sun-Times